This story is part of the series LOUISIANA ELECTIONS 2014

Constitution suffers amendment bloat

Northern Exposure is the state’s largest annual citizen lobbying trip to Baton Rouge. It’s held at the Louisiana State Museum in the shadow of the Louisiana Capitol. MARGARET CROFT/THE NEWS-STAR photos Delegations for northern Louisiana including Ouachita Parish arrive for 2013 Northern Exposure at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.(Photo:
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Story Highlights

The Constitution of 1921 was bogged down with 538 amendments.

Gov. Edwin Edwards led the charge for a new constitution in 1973.

175 amendments have already been added to that constitution in 39 years.

Experts and politicians think another convention may be a possibility.

"If we continue proposing and adopting amendments, it's going to be necessary to invoke a new constitutional convention and write a new constitution," said former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards.

Edwards, who was elected governor in 1972, led the way for a constitutional convention in 1973 because 538 amendments had been tacked onto the Louisiana Constitution of 1921.

"The constitution was outdated and filled with amendments that did not belong," Edwards said. "They should have been statutes instead."

One of Edwards main promises in his campaign for governor was that he would downsize government; however, when he got to the governor's mansion, he quickly realized he couldn't do that under the Louisiana Constitution of 1921.

"A new constitution was necessary to provide a mechanism to downsize government," he said.

"There were several reasons for it, not the least of which was that constitution had been amended over 500 times," said former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives Bubba Henry. "It had grown from a very small document. It had just been cluttered with legislative issues which never should have been there."

The convention was a success, and the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 was enacted in 1975.

In the 39 years that the constitution has been the supreme governing document of the state, 175 of the 248 proposed amendments have been adopted. Fifty-four of those amendments have come in the last decade.

Given that there are 14 amendments on the ballot in November, several people, such as Edwards, have begun to wonder if the state is going back down the same road to another constitutional convention in the not-so-distant future.

Henry, who also served as the chairman of the convention, is one of those critics.

"If we keep going like this, it would seem to me that we'll have ourselves back in the same position," he said.

There are several problems with a constitution that is bogged down with amendments.

Dr. T. Wayne Parent, who is the Russell B. Long Professor of political science at LSU, said the constitution becomes overwhelming.

"The major downside is that the constitution no longer functions as a constitution — the document that is set aside for fundamental rules to govern the state," he said. "Constitutions are designed to provide the fundamental rules by which laws are made, carried out and conflicts are resolved.

"Instead, it becomes weighted down by amendments that belong in state laws. Citizens and members of the government begin to view it as simply another place to promote and protect particular interests rather than the general interests of the state."

Edwards said the problem lies with legislators.

"The problem is that legislators and governors are prone to put things into the constitution that are controversial," he said. "Legislators have avoided a pitfall of having to make a controversial decision."

Henry said amendments are an attempt to avoid the tough calls.

"It allows the Legislature to pass critical issues onto the public to decide, rather than the Legislature having to make tough decisions," he said. "The problem with a highly amended constitution is that what you find out is people get something done that they want done, and they put it in the constitution to make sure it doesn't change easily."

Parent said the continued amending was a form of partisan politics at play.

"It happens because particular interests view adding an amendment to the constitution as a way to ensure that the particular interest receives more protection," he said. "A constitutional amendment is more difficult to change than a state law.

"It's simply a political practice to strengthen any particular interest. The downside, of course, is that the document itself becomes so diluted with particular interests that it no longer functions well as a constitution.​"

The 175 amendments make Louisiana one of only 19 states in the country with more than 100 amendments to their constitution. Massachusetts is another one of those states with their 120 amendments. However, those amendments have come over the course of 234 years. The state's constitution, which was enacted in 1780, is the longest standing constitution in the country.

Henry said the problem is not only with the fact that amendments are being proposed and approved, but the actual content of the amendments poses a problem, too.

"If you look at the series of amendments we have coming up here next month, they'll put the funding for an agency in the state constitution," he said. "If they say this amount of money has to be dedicated to hospitals, then that amount of money goes to hospitals every year, even though there may be a greater need one year."

No one can predict whether or a new constitutional convention will happen, but Henry said he would hope the convention would mimic that of '73.

"If there is a new constitutional convention, I would hope that the form used would be somewhat consistent with what we used," he said. "We had a member elected from every house district across the state, and we had 27 members appointed by the governor. It would assure that you have people involved in the convention from groups that might not have been represented."

Henry also said he would expect legislators to be more responsible with the process.

"I would hope that the Legislature would be more particular in years to come about what they offer to the people in the form of constitutional amendments," he said. "It's become pretty much a habit in this state."

Voters will have the chance to approve or deny 14 more amendments to the constitution at the polls on Nov. 4.

Written in the 1970s because its predecessor was too heavily amended, the current Louisiana constitution is following the path of its forerunner.

1921

1929

1937

1945

1953

1961

1969

1977

1985

1993

2001

2009

1/1/1921

Louisiana constitution

The state of Louisiana adopts a constitution that would be the law of the land for 54 years.

1972

Edwards elected

Gov. Edwin Edwards is elected on a promise to downsize government. He discovers the constitution, which had been amended 538 times, prevents him from doing so.

1973

Constitutional convention

A constitutional convention convenes, headed up by then-Speaker of the House Bubba Henry. A new constitution is drafted.

1975

Constitution adopted

Louisiana voters adopt the new convention, replacing the much-amended one of 1921.

2913

Much amended

Since its adoption in 1973, the constitution has had 248 proposed amendments. State voters have approved 175 of those. "If we keep going like this, it would seem to me that we'll have ourselves back
in the same position," Henry says.

2014

More amendments

Louisiana voters will decide the fate of 14 more proposed amendments during the midterm elections Nov. 4.